Projection lens systems (also referred to herein as "projection systems") are used to form an image of an object on a viewing screen. The basic structure of such a system is shown in FIG. 7, wherein 10 is a light source (e.g., a tungsten-halogen lamp), 12 is illumination optics which forms an image of the light source (hereinafter referred to as the "output" of the illumination system), 14 is the object which is to be projected (e.g., a matrix of on and off pixels of a LCD panel), and 13 is a projection lens, composed of multiple lens elements, which forms an enlarged image of object 14 on viewing screen 16.
Projection lens systems in which the object is a LCD or other pixelized panel are used in a variety of applications, including data display systems. Such projection lens systems preferably employ a single projection lens which forms an image of either a single panel having, for example, red, green, and blue pixels, or three individual panels, one for each color. For ease of reference, the following discussion will be in terms of a projection lens system that employs a single LCD panel, it being understood that the invention can also be used in systems which employ multiple panels and/or other types of pixelization.